There’s a record in the NT of one of the Herod’s being heralded as a god. When he didn’t take the opportunity to direct the crowd’s worship to the one and only true God, he was stricken with illness pretty quickly and died shortly thereafter.
The fact that it might take longer for modern day god wannabes to reap punishment doesn’t change the gravity of the sin of self-aggrandizement.
What is the NT? I’m sure it isn’t the New York Times. Please excuse my ignorance.